The results of surgical treatment of non-small cell lung cancer at the Pneumological Clinic in Prague, Czech Republic 1985–1990

In the Czech Republic, lung cancer is the most frequent malignant tumor in men. In 1990 the incidence was 99.6/100 000 for men and 15.8/100 000 for women. Neither diagnostic nor therapeutic approaches have changed significantly in the last 10 years. Patients undergoing lung resection have a chance of long-term survival. In this retrospective study, the authors analysed the data of 252 patients undergoing the operation for non-small cell lung cancer (NASLC) in the period 1985–1990. Of all patients who in that period had lung cancer diagnosed in our clinic, only 22% were operated on. Lobectomy was the most frequent type of operation (45%), and exploratory thoracotomy was carried out in 13%. The epidermoid type of cancer was the most frequent one (62%). Comparing cTNM with pTNM, concordant results were found in 55% of the series, 39% were clinically underestimated and 6% overestimated. By the time of the evaluation (31 December 1992), 78% of all patients who had undergone surgery during the study period had died. The most frequent cause of death was lung cancer metastasis. In the subseries of patients who died within 1 month after surgery (10% of all patients), the most frequent cause of death was pneumonia. The survival curve shows the best prognosis for patients in the Ist TNM stage, with 40% surviving 5 years. The authors consider the results of this study to favour aggressive surgical treatment of NSCLC patients.